Guns, Guns Guns

Hi all,

There is actual talk of breaking up the United States, China's minorities are simmering. Had an interest discussion about the Soviet Union's break up on DA that shows some of the problems if talk becomes fact http://deathnteria.deviantart.com/art/Leonard-Nimoy-337538634 in comments below the art:

~Yatanis wrote:

~Pokermind wrote:Our politics in the USA are getting so far apart without compromise I fear we may break up.

So what was it like to have the country you were born in come apart no doubt scary and exciting at the same time.

China is also having problems only keeping together with an iron fist. The world that seemed so stable for so long is coming apart. Hopefully the changes will not be too hard on people.

Actually I was a kid (13 y.o.) when USSR fell apart. It was pretty strange, but we were full of hopes that we will manage by ourselves. We had strong industry base and developed agriculture. In the end it wasn't how we expected at all. But not much worse then last years of USSR, so all used to it. One of unpleasant results was proclamation of Ukrainian language as official, in my part of the country only villagers use it

[I] Don't think that same fate expects your country or China. Life together is hard, but being apart is much more difficult. In fact we lost 70% of our industry 'cos it was managed in the scale of big economy and most of input materials were coming from different USSR's republics. After brake up all connections ruined as well. So... sorry my French [Friend?], it sucks

When contemplating such things listening to those who he lived through it is wise, would that those advocating succession would.

Poker

KNick wrote:The main difference in our two party system is that one wants to increase the power of the government and the other wants to decrease it. The original purpose of the central government was to handle matters of diplomacy, war and trade!! PERIOD. The constitution that controlled all of this was envisioned to be simply the minimum standards for all people in the country.

Each state was then supposed to control its own area using those guidelines as their minimum standards! The central government was only allowed to step in when the matter involved every persons [u]rights, [/u]not the way they did things locally. That matter of local vs. federal control is the basis of almost all of the drama seen in the last few years.

I'm not really sure that you can attribute the increase in federal power to the last few decades. As biochem mentioned, the Constitution itself was a move to a more centralized structure compared to the Articles of Confederation, and arguably the US has been trending towards greater centralization ever since. The Civil War and the following years would be another watershed in the way US citizens viewed their relationship to their states vs their relationship to the country as a whole.

So Poker, do you often find yourself needing an 18th century grenade launcher?



Me with 2.125 caliber Hand mortar 2005

pokermind wrote:

My cat with .45 caliber Snaphance
Revolver and Hand mortar



Combination Match/wheel-lock on the Hand Mortar.

One thing about knowing how to make your own you can always be armed

Poker

1598 is Sixteenth century not 18th. Wanted one and built one. I use to use it to lunch near empty pop cans for others to shoot on fly at muzzleloading shoots often a father son shoot kid shots the 212.5 caliber. With a 20 gr charge there is hardly a kick. While the launcher is legal to own the actual grenades would be illegal to own as weapons of mass destruction. It was a fun gun to shoot and a conversation piece.

Poker

Invictus wrote:So Poker, do you often find yourself needing an 18th century grenade launcher?



Me with 2.125 caliber Hand mortar 2005

pokermind wrote:

My cat with .45 caliber Snaphance
Revolver and Hand mortar



Combination Match/wheel-lock on the Hand Mortar.

One thing about knowing how to make your own you can always be armed

Poker

RandomGraysuit wrote:

viciokie wrote:Now as for hunting there is no way you need the Barrets .50 to go hunting with it. a black powder is fine and indeed there are some .75 black powders floating around. I personally prefer a recurve bow for hunting. Also a .22 rifle or pistol is just as deadly if not more so because of the bullets tendency to bounce around inside of the body.

You encounter a bear in the woods. Not a cute little 350 pound brown bear. A big, pissed off papa grizzly. Do you SERIOUSLY want to be carrying a .22 pistol against that? Also, what do you prefer to be carved into your headstone?

Big game such as bears or elk requires a big gun. You shoot a .22 against something like that, you'd better get an eye shot. Otherwise you're going to bounce your bullet off the skull, give the beastie a headache, and make it really, really interested in stomping whatever just hauled off and whacked it. Hit elsewhere, and that little .22 has a whole lot of muscle and fat to travel through before hitting anything important. Both of those animals are very good at stomping anything they can see or smell.

Do you specifically need a .50? No. But big rounds are good for bigger distance and a bigger wallop when they arrive.

I lived in Alaska for over 30 years. I don't even remember hearing anything about mere 350 pound brown bears. Grizzlie and Brown Bears are the same species, Brownies are the larger cousins. Black Bears are frequently 350 pounds.

The only time I owned firearms while living in Alaska was while living in Anchorage. The most "American" city in Alaska. The principle predatory threat was "two-legs". And the ony reason I "owned" those guns was I removed them from someone who tried to kill me. The police neglected to confiscate the weapons when the army collected the stolen weapons the guy had. He is expected to get out of Leavenworth in about nine more years when Five different states will start taking their turns housing him for various offenses in their jurisdictions.
I sold the weapons I took from him to a number of law enforcement agents as individuals and one I sold to the USArmy. An advanced model Uzi from Israel.

I spent years working and living in a variety of other locales in Alaska. Black Bears would wander into town, moose would visit (as many people lost in a year to moose as to bears, they're big, dumb, wandering cities and towns, and forget that mama moose can be just as aggressive in defense of baby as any other mammal. You thought I was describing moose?). I only carried a rifle outside a town for a week when escorting VIPS from Washignton DC in bear country. I fired it once, killed an alder, had a choice between an appointee and a Mama Bear. I chose an alder between cubs and Very Iditiotic
Parasitic Sophont. Idiot wanted to play with baby cubs.

The rest of the time I have not owned or felt the need for guns.

I sleep with three or four swords under the bed and drive with a katana in the car. But no guns.

All hail Obama or else!

Modification of this art http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=584922001527183&set=a.149251581760896.23351.142125212473533&type=1&theater

Poker

A good video. No shouting, no screaming. Done by PBS Newshour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyXcY7N ... r_embedded

For what it is worth.

Have a good day,
T2M

Edit: My mistake, I missed the hammer and plow. (And shouldn't it be a hammer and sickle anyway?)

Still, why are you parroting wildly inaccurate things?

I know I shouldn't be surprised when Godwin's Law is validated but still...

Why are you parroting incredibly insulting (and wildly inaccurate) claims?

pokermind wrote:

All hail Obama or else!

Modification of this art http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=584922001527183&set=a.149251581760896.23351.142125212473533&type=1&theater

Poker

Donnachaidh wrote:Edit: My mistake, I missed the hammer and plow. (And shouldn't it be a hammer and sickle anyway?)

Still, why are you parroting wildly inaccurate things?

I know I shouldn't be surprised when Godwin's Law is validated but still...

Why are you parroting incredibly insulting (and wildly inaccurate) claims?

pokermind wrote:

All hail Obama or else!

Modification of this art http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=584922001527183&set=a.149251581760896.23351.142125212473533&type=1&theater

Poker

maybe the plow represents what he wants to turn them into, a la the saying: beat your swords into plowshares.

Hi Donnachaidh & Spacekiwi

I remember when the Feds came into my state and committed murder, remember the Randy Weaver case under the Clinton Administration? Texans remember the burning out of the Branch Davidians. Many have died in the military style assault tactics that have become the norm rather than the exception, so it's not paranoia when the fear of the government is justified.

Poker